Ghost Dog

A year ago today I landed in Texas. Seems like yesterday and forever ago that I was packing up the truck in Silverlake with Bailey casting a watchful eye from her perch across the street. Still plenty of nostalgia but also excitement to see what another year here brings.

Kindred Spirit

 

I know just what she's thinking.

;)

Excerpted from an outdoor metal Hollywood Video sign. "WOW" was also available (they must have scavenged more than one sign) but I went with the LOL. I'll follow up soon with a photo in its new home.

Homestead

Back to Fredericksburg for a minute - Homestead is an endless maze of stuff, three floors of hidden treasure.

Vintage clocks are on my radar. I had to hold myself back from walking out with the green one but at $750, it's not really an impulse buy.

Smart vignettes got me thinking about things I don't need or wouldn't normally want. The sculptural old barbells have great texture and feel.

Helpful design tips too.

Homestead and Friends

230 East Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX

830-997-5551

www.homesteadstores.com

Tree

The trunk and branches are bronze, I think. I love the roots.

On a sleepy street in the South Congress neighborhood.

deVille

The other night we heard outdoor live music which is what you're supposed to do in Austin. We were at Club deVille and I'm going to have to update this post because I can't find the name of the band we heard, but they were great. Though I admit, I was as enamored with the setting as the music. It was a warm breezy night and everything was perfect.

The stage and entire outdoor patio are nestled in a dramatic rock cliff.

An art show in the midst of the music.

Soma

Sidewalk graffiti on West Johanna Street at South Congress.

soma /so·ma/ (so´mah)

1. the body as distinguished from the mind.

2. the body tissue as distinguished from the germ cells.

3. the cell body.

Wild West

Fredericksburg, TX was nothing like what I expected - not your average quaint German tourist town. It is quaint and plenty German, mixed with amazing historic stone buildings that look like a facade out of an old Western.

I was also impressed with the offerings. I knew it is a destination for antiques shoppers which is why I was there too, but the quality, selection, merchandising and general professionalism rivaled any bigger town retail experience. But much friendlier.

This is the exterior signage for Red, one of my favorite finds. A retail space fashioned out of a service station, with a crisp funky combination of vintage and new. 

I especially loved Red's fabrics and vintage lighting.

A beautiful (original?) tile floor in a kitchen supply store.

I stopped by this perfect bakery called Rather Sweet, Too. (Shocker for anyone who knows me!) Such handsome cases, a beautifully restored old freezer in the back and cases full of enormous, delicious treats. I had a cranberry oatmeal cookie with icing on top.

More details of my favorite finds to follow. In short, two thumbs up for Fredericksburg.

Red

307 East Main, Fredericksburg, TX

830-990-0700

www.redinfred.com

Rather Sweet, Too

251 East Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX

830-992-3620

www.rathersweet.com

Sparkle

A quick and dirty teaser of some twinkly, sparkly, reflective things for a project that I will unveil as soon as it's ready.

Tomorrow, a treasure hunt in Fredericksburg. Wish me luck!

NSFW

Sonny Angels aka Naked Angel Babies.

I'm not exactly sure what you do with them, besides admire their cuteness and lack of modesty. But at around $7 each for the ~3 inch dolls, maybe that's all you need.

IF+D

208 Colorado Street, Austin, TX

512-469-0870

www.ifdaustin.com

Meal Replacement

Another cool Austin native. Organic, all natural, yada yada. Pretty much all I want to eat when the temps soar. And based on last summer, it's not really even hot yet. Except that it already feels boiling hot to me. I haven't tried all the flavors but the Hibiscus Mint is by far the best popsicle I've ever had.

Good Dog

Not a soul in sight while I was there, just this little guy to meet and greet and hold down the fort.

I'm gonna find a spot for the spaceship.

Roadhouse Relics
1720 South 1st Street, Austin, TX 78704
512-442-6366
www.roadhouserelics.com

A Lark

I sometimes get nostalgic for LA and since many of my readers are LA-based, an LA post now and then seems fitting. Especially on a slow Austin day.

There are great cupcakes in Austin, but there is something special about the retro-inspired Lark cakes.

The big fluffy one in front is an "icebox cupcake" made with stacks of chocolate wafers and whipped cream. My mother made this cake once or twice when I was little, saying her mother made it all the time - "a classic 50s no-bake dessert". Always a favorite.

Tucked behind it is a caramel cupcake with burnt sugar icing. Heaven. The innocent-looking one in the back is stuffed with custard.

This is a terrible photo, but I just loved the idea. A bakery wall decorated with paper cake doilies tacked up with bright pins. Sculptural and playful and simple and sweet, like Lark cakes.

A good friend (you know who you are!) and I would make Lark dates. We'd walk down the hill and sit and eat cupcakes together. I miss you Lark!

Lark
3337 W. Sunset Boulevard, LA, CA 90026
323-667-2968
www.larkcakeshop.com

Displaced

Poor guy. He was wandering along the Town Lake trail, confused and lonely. I'm happy to report that when I left him he was pointed back toward the water - I'm hopeful he made it back safely.

Coop

I am not in the habit of seeing chickens.

And certainly not chickens roaming in a garden just 2 miles from downtown proper. Some might argue that East Side Cafe IS downtown proper. With chickens!

The food is prepared from their own and other local gardens. I got a salad. WEAK order. I mean it was excellent as far as salads go, but the mushroom manicotti, salmon ravioli and vegetarian enchiladas that the others ordered looked way better. I'll make sure I'm hungrier next time I go.

But I loved the gardens, the chickens, and how this is all minutes from downtown. Wild.

East Side Cafe
2113 Manor Road, Austin, TX
512-476-5858
www.eastsidecafeaustin.com

Power

I've always had a thing for industrial buildings and facades, especially power plants. I remember there is a gem of a power plant in Seattle that I'd go out of my way to drive past. Austin's Seaholm Power Plant rivals the best of them.

A solid, handsome structure that communicates reliability and, well, power.

The signage especially caught my attention. Look at the lightening bolt and the word "POWER" over the awning!

And the unique "Moderne" graphics that illuminate red at night.

It's a relic from another era and a beacon from Cesar Chavez on the approach East into downtown.

This is a recent addition just within the past couple months. I'm not sure if it's considered an art installation or someone's idea of a fun, tricked out picnic area, but it's cool.

It has an oversized Alice In Wonderland feel to it. And a metal doily tablecloth!

Deets for the diehards.

Ma

Today I toured a Ma modular home by local design/build firm KRDB. I'm impressed! Sometimes modular homes have a smushed, thin, tinny feel but this one is well-proportioned (luxuriously huge bathrooms!) and exceptionally sturdy. And at $125-$140/sq foot, definitely an option I'd consider.

This was not a model home, nor did it have the predictable DWR/Ikea/West Elm mash up you usually see in like homes. I adored the decor which was quirky and personal, full of the owners' art and book collections. A little rough around the edges which made me love it more, a welcome contrast to the crisp simple lines of the prefab. 

I love mixing and matching dining room chairs and this is such a sweet group. I thought it was a great idea to paint an otherwise plain oak (pine?) table a crisp white. 

And I love a kilim rug no matter what.

Such a creative solution for a kitchen window with a not-so-great view.